NBTI Leadership

The Northwestern Brain Tumor Institute is dedicated to providing state-of-the-art clinical care, along with the resources and support that patients and families need. This requires the services of a multidisciplinary team of experts in brain and spinal disease.

Leading this world-class team are the co-directors of the Northwestern Brain Tumor Institute, James Chandler, MD and Jeffrey Raizer, MD.

James Chandler, MD - Co-Director

James Chandler, MD, is the Surgical Director of Neuro-Oncology at Northwestern Memorial Hospital and a Professor of Neurological Surgery and Otolaryngology — Head and Neck Surgery at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine. Dr. Chandler received his undergraduate degree in neurobiology at the University of California at Berkeley and his medical degree from the University of Maryland Medical School in Baltimore. He completed his residency in neurological surgery at Northwestern's Feinberg School of Medicine and completed fellowships in cranial base and micro vascular surgery at the George Washington Neurological Institute in Washington, D.C., and at the Institute Neurosurgery Sao Paulo (Brazil). Dr. Chandler has performed over 3500 successful brain tumor operations and has authored numerous publications on the topic. He enjoys an international reputation for his pioneering work in the areas of endoscopic skull base surgery, awake craniotomy and outpatient brain surgery.

"Creation of the Brain Tumor Institute firmly establishes Northwestern as a preeminent resource in efforts to help us improve care for patients now and in the future," says Dr. Chandler. "Northwestern boasts an incredible team of experts in the fields of neurology, neurosurgery, neuro-oncology, and radiation, along with a team of internationally-renowned research scientists. The NBTI unites these minds in pursuit of our efforts to offer patients hope for a healthier future."

Jeffrey Raizer, MD - Co-Director

Jeffrey Raizer, MD, is Director of Medical Neuro-Oncology at the Lurie Cancer Center and Northwestern Memorial Hospital, and Professor of Neurology at Northwestern's Feinberg School of Medicine. Dr. Raizer completed his undergraduate training at UCLA, received his medical degree from New York Medical College, followed by residencies in internal medicine at NYU/Bellevue Hospital Center and Neurology at Yale-New Haven Hospital. He then did a two year fellowship in neuro-oncology at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center where he then remained on staff for five years before coming to Northwestern to develop the medical neuro-oncology program. Dr. Raizer is currently the Principal Investigator on 14 clinical trials at Northwestern with more in development, and has conducted over 25 clinical trials in the last decade.

"I think of the NBTI as a pyramid," says Dr. Raizer, "with the base being the full complement of medical and surgical care, research efforts, and supportive services, rising to a pinnacle that is the patient. As a clinician, each day I help care for patients who are facing the biggest challenge of their lives. I am always looking for new and better options to offer them. It is exciting to know that the NBTI is in the vanguard of clinical care and patient support as well as translational research efforts that will accelerate the introduction of new and better therapies. What does this mean to me? I want to be able to offer my patients hope for better outcomes, a better quality of life, and, someday, even a cure."